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Saturday, 31 March 2012

Over the years, I have seen many definitions, of what the low carb diet is in terms of carbs per day. Some believe Bernstein’s 30 per day is low carb, others feel 100 carbs per day is a lowcarb diet. I have seen numbers as high as 200 grams per day, described as low carb, compared to the daily recommended for adults. An argument put forward to keep the peace, and quell the usual arguments, is drop your carb level until you get safe BG numbers. Some non insulin users are holding sub six HbA1c numbers on a 150 or more carbs per day, others have to drop to 30 carbs per day to hold a sub six HbA1c. Peace and calm restored, everybody’s happy. We are told by some, constantly, we are all different. Initially that seems sensible advise. It makes sense until you consider the following.

It is widely accepted a type two diabetic has been a diabetic for years before diagnosis. Some data suggests around ten years. Some people less and some more. It is also believed the typical type two diabetic at diagnosis has lost around 50% of functioning beta cells. Excess weight is a feature for around 80% of type two’s as is insulin resistance. So, let’s take a man consuming 150 carbs per day and holding HbA1c of 5.8 on nil meds. That’s pretty good and only a small percentage of diabetics hold BG in the so called 5% club. But consider this. The same guy consuming 50 carbs per day may well hold HbA1c in the fours ! A very rare situation, and a very safe place to be. Also, he will putting less load on his already highly depleted beta cells. All things being equal, he should be able to stay meds free for longer, maybe the rest of his life.

I believe age is also a big factor. If our man was seventy years of age, he may well take a view to keep more carbs in his diet and accept a high fives HbA1c. If he was forty years of age, a Bernstein type carb level could well be his best option. I have known type two diabetics that could hold non diabetic BG numbers on a 150 or more carbs per day, unfortunately it did not last. Over time their BG numbers have crept up. I believe the safest number for a type two non insulin user is in the fours for HbA1c. Very few achieve it, but it is possible, but maybe not on a diet using 100 plus carbs per day.

Friday, 30 March 2012

I have received the inevitable letter from a body that calls itself Sugar Nutrition UK, from its Nutrition Communication Manager, a Dr Mary Harrington. She is perplexed by statements about the impact of sugar on health that I made in an article on breakfast cereals in the Daily Mail:
“I would therefore be keen to understand the research behind some of the statements... in particular, ‘It is now accepted scientific fact that eating too much sugar increases your chances of suffering from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and liver problems’.”
Let me introduce you properly to Sugar Nutrition UK. Until this year, it was known as the Sugar Bureau, but it has renamed itself. The old title gave the game away: it is a lobby group for big sugar companies. Change of name notwithstanding, Sugar Nutrition UK continues to be funded by the same UK sugar manufacturers.

Would you trust such vested interests to give you an independent view of sugar and its impact on health? Would you trust it to give you advice on how to prevent children’s teeth rotting, for instance? Probably not, but some more gullible people might. After all, Sugar Nutrition UK now promotes itself as a reliable source of the latest nutrition research on sugars:

“Our job is to provide science-based and up-to-date nutrition information on sugars and health to academics, health professionals, media, public and Government.”
Sugar Nutrition UK doesn’t take kindly to journalists who dare mention to readers that sugar might not be very good for us. After all, it’s on a mission to improve “knowledge and understanding about the contributions of sugar and other carbohydrates to a healthy balanced diet”. Perish the thought that sugar should ever be considered unhealthy. The mission of Sugar Nutrition UK, of course, is reiterate that “no foods should be considered as ‘good or bad’ as all foods play an important role in the diet.” Does this sound familiar?
Sugar Nutrition UK goes further. It argues that not only is sugar not bad for you, you positively need it:
“Carbohydrates (including sugar) help to switch off hunger ...... So boosting the level of carbohydrate-rich foods in the diet not only fuels your muscles, but helps to prevent overeating.”
Would you trust such vested interests to give you an independent view of sugar and its impact on health? Would you trust it to give you advice on how to prevent children’s teeth rotting, for instance? Probably not, but some more gullible people might. After all, Sugar Nutrition UK now promotes itself as a reliable source of the latest nutrition research on sugars:

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

On diabetic forums there is often discussion of the NICE guidelines for HbA1c versus attempting to keep to "near normal" levels. The most heated comments come from those defending the NICE levels. It may a coincidence but these defenders also seem to be the most fervent anti-lowcarbers. To remind ourselves what is at stake, the following is from a previous post.

People with diabetes have about twice the risk of developing a range of CVD, compared with those without diabetes [Ref 1].

People with Type 2 diabetes have a two-fold increased risk of stroke within the first five years of diagnosis compared with the general population [Ref 2 & 3].

People with diabetes are 10 to 20 times more likely to go blind than people without diabetes [Ref 4].

People with diabetes are twice as likely to suffer from cataracts or glaucoma as the general population [Ref 5].

Worldwide, the rate of leg amputations in people with diabetes is over 15 times higher than in people without diabetes [Ref 6].

The prevalence of depression is approximately twice as high in people with diabetes as it is in the general population [Ref 7].

Chronic painful neuropathy is estimated to affect about one in six (16.2 per cent of) people with diabetes, compared with one in 20 (4.9 per cent) in the age and sex matched control group [Ref 8].

There are further statistics on other complications, but none that I can easily find that show such an easy comparison between diabetics and non-diabetics and provide such strong incentives for keeping blood glucose levels as near as possible to “normal” levels.

For diabetic parents two questions to be answered

1.Do I selfishly satisfy my food pleasures against the known risks for my family?

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Nutritional Information: If you cut this loaf into 12 thick slices each slice has less than 1 gram of effective carbohydrate, 5 grams fibre, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

Flax meal loaf. Weight of cooked loaf 742 grams.

Ingredients.

2 cups of ground flax seeds (280 grams)

5 eggs

Half a cup of water

One third of a cup of liquid butter

One table spoon of baking powder

One tea spoon of salt

Added mixed dried herbs

Method

Place the eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk. Add the butter and water. Place the flax in another bowl and add baking powder, salt and herbs and mix.… Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix thoroughly. Place the mix into a non stick bread tin and bake at gas mark 7 for 55 minutes, electric fan oven 200c for 55 minutes. All ovens are different, so you will have to experiment a bit. Add some walnuts and sun dried toms into the mix and you have meal in itself. Just add that lovely butter. The beauty of this bread is that it is easy to make, and requires no cooking skills or special equipment.

Monday, 26 March 2012

I believe the Wallycorker prize is in danger of becoming undervalued. I remember the struggles of Fergus, Timo, Trinks, some posters called Fast Eddie and The Duck, and a horse lover? These newcomers have not spent years on the trenches, with foot rot, scurvy, etc, etc and of course ……..

Rates of stroke and kidney failure in people with diabetes have surged in England, according to new analysis by Diabetes UK.

An audit of 1.9 million people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes found more than 13,000 had a stroke in 2009-10, a 57% risefrom 2006-7.

And more than 7,000 had kidney failure, up 31% from 2006-7.

Barbara Young, chief executive of the charity, said the rates of the complications were "shocking".

Across the UK, 2.9 million people have diabetes, and another 850,000 are believed to have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

A recent survey by the charity suggested almost a quarter of people with diabetes were unaware of having had their kidney function checked in the previous year, while 7% had not had their blood pressure checked.

Barbara Young said: "It is shocking that rates of strokes and kidney failure in people with diabetes are now at record levels and yet thousands of people are still not getting the health checks that can help prevent them.

"These figures are a reminder that all people with diabetes should have these checks every year, as this is the simplest and most effective way of reducing risk of complications such as stroke and kidney failure.

"We also need to get the message across to people with diabetes that they should demand these checks if they are not already getting them.

"Stroke and kidney failure are complications that hugely reduce quality of life for many people with diabetes, while the cost of treatment far exceeds that of the simple checks that can help prevent them developing in the first place."

In a very rare move, the trustees of the Wallycorker foundation have awarded the highly prestigious Wallycorker medal to Grazer. Rarely is the award given to a member who as not been banned. Grazer has worked tirelessly, to expose the trolls, spreaders of fear and ludicrous clique cronies. Working hard to help the newbie’s and brought a much needed sense of humour to the crazy world of diabetes.

In a special all night sitting of the board of trustees the vote was unanimous. The trustees were also highly impressed with his skilful inter-change with phoenix aka the ‘slippery one’ and the cherub. His patience in dealing with the bonkers one was highly commended.

Chairman of the board of trustees. Roger (keto warrior) Jenkins stated today “never was a man more deserved than Grazer, a true lowcarb warrior in the finest tradition, Grazer is not a lowcarber, but appreciates for many it is the only way to diabetic salvation” From his prison cell in Brixton, Lord Beantipper added, “it’s great to see lowcarbing is back where it belongs at d.co.uk, nothing else works, the carb and med junkies better get used to it” When asked to comment on the disruptive ex Kenny boy clique members, he became so enraged he had to be sedated with a horse tranquiliser.

Say what you like about Sid, but he is consistent. Week in and week out he keeps the forum alive. If the majority say it’s black, Sid says it’s white. One week it’s fat will kill ya, (while scoffing tins of Celebration chocolates) the next he promotes the NICE guidelines, regarding HbA1c as the guide he goes by. Sid stated today “I think you'll find I don’t give a fig whose figures they were originally, I just use the same ones that are recommended by NICE and this forum here in the UK” Earlier he admitted "I'd be horrified if I got those figures"

So, what’s the best number for a diabetic regarding HbA1c ? That’s a no brainer, the same number as a non diabetic. And that number is a very, very long way, from the NICE guidelines 7.5 which equate in old money to around 9 mmol/l, twice the number of a healthy non diabetic. Clearly the NICE guideline HbA1c recommendation is not a place a well controlled diabetic wants to be. Tragically, the majority of diabetics, never get close, to the almost complication guaranteeing, NICE guidelines.

NHS Statistics for 2008 2009:

Percentage of Type 1 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 7.5 per cent = 71.4 per cent.

Percentage of Type 2 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 7.5 per cent = 33.4 per cent.

Percentage of Type 1 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 10.0 per cent = 33.6 per cent.

Percentage of Type 2 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 10.0 per cent = 14.3 per cent.

These results are very similar to those found in 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008.

Sid also said today “Then tell the Admin on this forum and then when they change the information given to newly diagnosed diabetics I will follow suit” Well, we have been saying the d.co.uk newbie’s cut and pasted intro, regarding NICE HbA1c guidelines, is very poor information to give to the newly diagnosed, for around two years. This cut and paste job, was originally put together by Ken aka ‘four’s the floor’ Cugila. How many newbie’s, would take those dangerous numbers as satisfactory ? Far too many in my opinion. Even the Bonkers one says he would be horrified with those numbers.

As I said earlier, Sid is consistent. I am sure he gives many experienced and in control diabetics a chuckle. No one in their right mind would follow Sid’s ludicrous diet, based on 16 grams of corn flakes, bread, scones, spuds and chocolate digestives. But each to their own. I like Sid, every forum needs a good court jester. After Kenny boy, Sid is doing a great job. The big question is, how much confusing information is the ex Ken clique giving to the newly diagnosed and long term out of control ? And, is Sid a bit of a buffoon, or is someone pulling his strings.

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Many readers will be familiar with the NHS protocol for glycaemic control in Type 2 Diabetic adults. Basically, it consists of an iterative series of HbA1c tests. If HbA1c < NICE target figure, the patient ‘reverts to routine monitoring for expected deterioration’. If the HbA1c >= NICE target figure, the patient is reviewed for lifestyle intervention and placed on some oral diabetes medication. Depending on where in the iterative testing series the patient is, the medication may be a single drug, double drug, triple drug regimen or in extreme cases an insulin regimen.

Concern over the withdrawal of Actos and Avandia over safety concerns led me to consider what was known regarding the benefits and harm of oral medication for Type 2 diabetic adults.

The evaluation of oral medication for Type 2 diabetics is difficult because there are so many classes of drugs and many individual drugs within each class. Given that much of the drug information mainly comes from industry-sponsored clinical trials, there is a clear need for a systematic, objective analysis of the evidence.

Fortunately, the U.S. Congress directed the AHRQ to establish the Effective Health Care Program to conduct and support research with a focus on “outcomes, comparative clinical effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care items and services (including prescription drugs)”.

The resulting analysis of 216 studies of oral medication for Type 2 diabetics was reported in Ref 1. A follow up analysis was reported in Ref 2.

These reports are important for several reasons. No systematic review had previously summarised all available placebo-controlled trials and head-to-head trials that considered effects on HbA1c values, lipid levels, and body weight as well as other clinically important outcomes, such as adverse effects and macro-vascular events. The reports should move researchers away from industry-sponsored single studies that are often carefully designed to increase the probability of a result in favour of the drug manufacturer – the interested reader no longer has to worry about commercially biased conclusions.

The authors drew the following conclusions.

Older drugs have similar or better effects on glycaemic control, lipids, and other intermediate end points, than newer, more expensive drugs (thiazolidinediones, α-glucosidase inhibitors, and meglitinides).

The drug effects on major clinical end points, such as cardiovascular mortality, were inconclusive.

Metformin is recommended as an initial drug therapybecause it has the best balance of efficacy, side effects and cost.

The reports have their limitations. They only briefly address the class of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors and do not highlight the relative ineffectiveness of triple oral medication therapy, as reported in Ref 3

After spending some time reading the report, my position is as follows. Given that safety data regarding the long-term safety of older oral medications for Type 2 diabetics is sparse, it seems reasonable when considering newer drugs whose long-term safety is even more unknown, to be cautious in using them in lieu of the long-established drugs.

Of course, on this forum, there is little need to discuss the advantages of low carbing in the iterative sequence of testing. Suffice to say – low carbing – lower medication.

﻿MethodMix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream. Place 2 tablespoons of instant coffee in a cup and pour some boiling water over the coffee, keep water to a minimum, just enough to melt the coffee. Then add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix. Microwave in a 700watt for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on clotted cream and add pecan nuts. Serves four, low carb and tastes great.

We have been tramping around Maldon this week and the beautiful river Blackwater. A few pics. If you get a chance visit this great little town, go for it. Home of the magestic Thames Barges and the old Tug Brent. This old Tug is number three on the list of must be saved boats in England. A charity has been set up to save this great old boat. Essex often gets negative reports, but in our opinion it is a great County with some fantastic places to visit.

"The town holds an annual "Taxi Day" which sees mentally and physically disabled children from London driven to Maldon in London Black Cabs for a fun day of activities and a meal. The event dates back to 1952 when a London cab driver visited the Elizabeth Fry Special School in Plaistow. He wanted to do something special for the young patients he saw there. He wrote to every one of Essex's seaside towns to arrange an outing and the only town that was willing to help was Maldon, thus Taxi Day has remained a tradition ever since"

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Metformin was first formulated in 1922. But unlike many drugs of the same era which have fallen by the wayside, it has endured, or indeed, thrived.

IN November 2011, I wrote an article entitled Aspirin, the New Wonder Drug for The Star. Aspirin is an ancient drug dating from 400BC, first used by Hippocrates for pain relief. Now it is standard treatment for the secondary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, and it is on the threshold of being used for the prevention of certain cancers.

Metformin is another candidate vying for the title of “wonder drug”.

But it is much newer, merely a few centuries old. It belongs to the biguanide class of antidiabetic drugs, and like many drugs, had its origins in folk medicine. Tea brewed from French Lilac or Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) was used to treat frequent urination and halitosis (a sweetish mouth odour). We now know that these are the symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes.

Metformin was first formulated in 1922. But unlike many drugs of the same era which have fallen by the wayside, it has endured, or indeed, thrived. It is now the most widely prescribed drug for diabetes worldwide.

In the last 10 years every guideline on diabetes has recommended it as the first line drug. But it was not always so... Let us start with its humble beginnings.

The following paragraphs have been abstracted from Wikipedia. “Metformin was first described in the scientific literature in 1922, by Emil Werner and James Bell. In 1929, Slotta and Tschesche discovered its sugar-lowering action in rabbits, noting it was the most potent of the biguanide analogues they studied. This result was completely forgotten soon after.

“Interest in metformin, however, picked up at the end of the 1940s. In 1950, metformin, unlike other similar compounds, was found not to decrease blood pressure and heart rate in animals. That same year, a prominent Filipino physician, Eusebio Y. Garcia, used metformin (he named it Fluamine) to treat influenza. He also noted the drug lowered blood sugar and was non-toxic. Garcia also believed metformin had bacteriostatic, antiviral, antimalarial, antipyretic and analgesic actions.

“French diabetologist Jean Sterne, working at Laboratoires Aron in Paris, was prompted by Garcia’s report to reinvestigate the blood sugar-lowering activity of metformin. Sterne was the first to try metformin on humans for the treatment of diabetes; he coined the name ‘glucophage’ (glucose eater) for the drug and published his results in 1957.”

So “glucophage”, now virtually a medical household name, was born, and this year, it is 55 years old! Generic forms of metformin are also widely available.

Overweight people who shed pounds, especially belly fat, can improve the function of their blood vessels no matter whether they are on a low-carb or a low-fat diet, according to a study being presented by Johns Hopkins researchers at an American Heart Association scientific meeting in San Diego on March 13 that is focused on cardiovascular disease prevention.

"After six months, those who were on the low-carb diet lost an average of 28.9 pounds versus 18.7 poundsamong those on the low-fat diet," says lead investigator Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute.

"Our study demonstrated that the amount of improvement in the vessels was directly linked to how muchcentral, or belly fat, the individuals lost, regardless of which diet they were on," says Stewart. "This is important since there have been concerns that a low-carb diet, which means eating more fat, may have a harmful effect on cardiovascular health. These results showed no harmful effects from the low-carb diet."

Stewart notes that participants on the low-carb diet lost more weight and at a faster pace, on average, which has also been seen in several other studies. He says eating higher amounts of carbohydrates can slow down the rate of body fat loss while on a weight reduction diet.

Heat the oil (to medium heat)in a frying pan. Add the shallots and mushrooms, fry/saute until golden brown, Remove from pan into oven proof casserole dish. Add bacon lardons to pan and cook until they are lightly browned, add to casserole dish. Finally put diced beef into frying pan and lightly brown each side of cubed beef then put into casserole dish.Make up the beef stock to approx. half to three quarters of a pint, but the red wine should make up about half of the liquid.Bring to a gentle simmer in the frying pan and add the mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the ingredients in the casserole dish, add your bay leaf (optional). Cover and cook for approx two to two and a half hours at Regulo 4 Electric 180 stirring after the first hour. Serve with steamed broccoli and white cabbage or vegetables of your choice.

Friday, 16 March 2012

THE majority of diabetics who check their glucose levels at home do not understand how to monitor themselves properly and take no action when readings are abnormal.

Helen McArdle

Researchers at Stirling University raised concerns about self-monitoring after interviewing 207 patients in Tayside with type-2 diabetes who assessed their own blood glucose levels at home and did not use insulin.

They found that more than 60% of sufferers took no action in response to test readings, mainly because they didn't know what to do.

They also found that many patients mistakenly estimated a blood glucose level of 10mmol/litre or above to be the danger threshold, when most health professionals would recommend readings should be less than seven.

Type-2 diabetes affects around 209,000 Scots.

Lead researcher Dr Josie Evans said: "More than half of the patients were taking no action in response to self-monitoring.

"Some patients find it very frustrating if they have a high reading as they are unsure what to do about it. They know what to do if they have a low blood glucose reading but the opposite is confusing.

"There is no point in patients self-monitoring unless they are educated in how to interpret readings and to respond appropriately and this may be why patients who self-monitored did not seem to have better blood glucose control."

India's Sachin Tendulkar has become the first player to score 100 international centuries by compiling a ton in a one-day international against Bangladesh.

Not a long time back in a poll, people voted him as the healthiest and happiest Indian.

Sachin Tendulkar is a known foodie. He loves to have any kind of fish preparation cooked at home. He is also very fond of steaks and Thai food. His diet and food intake includes 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 30% protein.

OK, not a lowcarber by any stretch of the imagination, ( Sachin is not a diabetic) but fat and protein high on his priority food list. Yet again, we see a world class sportsman, on a reduced carb higher fat and protein diet. And Dietitions tell diabetics to go for a carb intake of up to 60%.

Eating white rice may be linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers said today.

A review of four studies involving around 350,000 people found the more white rice people ate, the higher their chance of developing the condition seemed to be.

All the people were free from diabetes at the start of the studies.

During follow-up, ranging from four to 22 years, around 13,200 people developed diabetes.

The authors said previous studies suggest that eating brown rice may modestly decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes. But they said larger studies were needed to look at any benefits of substituting brown rice for white rice.

The drug saxagliptin, with the brand name Onglyza, is the subject of a warning from both the Irish Medicines Board and the European Medicines Agency. It is prescribed for patients with Type 2 diabetes as part of a diet and exercise programme and is designed to lower blood sugar.

Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca, which makes the drug, has now asked healthcare professionals not to prescribe it for patients with a history of serious hypersensitivity reactions.

It should also not be used for anyone with suspected inflammation of the pancreas.

The manufacturers say that a review of reports identified "several serious" incidents associated with saxagliptin use.

There was also evidence that "signs of pancreatitis occurred after the start of saxagliptin treatment" but stopped when the drug was discontinued.

Having considered the reports, the company has updated the product information to reflect the effects on hypersensitive patients and those with pancreatitis.

An estimated 130,000 people in this country suffer from type 2 diabetes, which is associated with poor diet, being overweight and sedentary, over the age of 45 and inheritance.

Earlier this week the Irish Medicines Board also warned about an association between the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs - statins - and newly diagnosed diabetes.

Benefit

In its Drug Safety Newsletter the Board said there was sufficient evidence from research to support an association between the two. Drug regulators have advised doctors, however, that the benefit of using statins outweighs any risk of diabetes and patient should continue to take the widely prescribed medication.

They assess the risk as one additional case of diabetes in 250 patients treated with statins for four years and say the risk appears to be mainly in patients already at risk of diabetes.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2012) — A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center reveals that the presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria is associated with elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), an important biomarker for blood glucose levels and diabetes. The association was even stronger in obese individuals with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI).

The results, which suggest the bacteria may play a role in the development of diabetes in adults, are available online in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

There have been several studies evaluating the effect of the presence of H. pylori on diabetes outcomes, but this is the first to examine the effect on HbA1c, an important, objective biomarker for long-term blood sugar levels, explained Yu Chen, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at NYU School of Medicine, part of NYU Langone Medical Center.

"The prevalence of obesity and diabetes is growing at a rapid rate, so the more we know about what factors impact these conditions, the better chance we have for doing something about it," Dr. Chen said. Looking at the effects of H. pylori on HbA1c, and whether the association differs according to BMI status, provided what could be a key piece of information for future treatment of diabetes, she explained.

Type II diabetes causes an estimated 3.8 million adult deaths globally. There have been conflicting reports about the association between H. pylori infection and type II diabetes. To better understand the relationship between H. pylori and the disease, Dr. Chen and Martin J. Blaser, MD, the Frederick H. King Professor of Internal Medicine and professor of microbiology, analyzed data from participants in two National Health and Nutrition Surveys (NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2000) to assess the association between H. pylori and levels of HbA1c.

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

“A forum for those that low-carb, and those that wish to learn more about low-carbing. Please do not come into this forum to debate the validity of low-carbing - this forum is for those that wish to learn more and exchange ideas”

Imagine the uproar, if lowcarbing non meds type two’s, wondered into the type one, or pump forum telling them how to control their diabetes. Why do the high carb/high med, often on a pump folks, spend most of their time in the lowcarb forum ? Is it guilt ? Is it jealousy ? That some are prepared to make a big effort, and change their lifestyle and get of their butts and exercise, rather than depend on meds. We need to be told.

Personally I don’t give a monkeys what others do. Let them “fill their face with carbs” let them “ burn Bernstein’s books” let them pig out on “celebration chocolates and toast” let them stick to their 50% per meal carb intake and pump. But please tell me why they want to bring others down to their level.

“He is posting as Wallycorkers_ghost
I sussed him from his very first post as well, LOL, the Ed.
iot didnt even write a fake intro when he first registered.
I hope sensible people such as catherinecherub, Sid Bonkers, noblehead click on to who he is and sort him out.
Eat to your meter, reduce carbs to your personal needs, no need to do the 'one-size-fits-all' extreme low carb advice that some horse blinkered people keep ramming down everyones throat.
Just sensible eating to achieve good numbers.
Karen chocfish”

This blog July 8th. 2011

I have yet to meet a TRUE low carber with complications. Like you Eddie, I find that when a diabetic gets down to serious low carbing they manage to reverse or at least improve their complication issues. Of course nobody can manage to grow a new foot, not even with low carb. But I know plenty who have improved kidney function, neuropathy, retinopathy etc
I always suggest low carbing to all and sundry, I've even printed a littly flyer on low carbing and I hand that out at every opportunity.
People laugh, some are sceptical, you cant live without bread, rice. etc you will die?
I just smile, suggest they try it for a couple of weeks only, if its harmful then 2 weeks wont cause too much damage will it? You would be surprised just how many people come back to me with 'Karen, by the way, thanks'
Really, to anyone out there struggling with their bg numbers, or actually with any kind of illness, do yourself a favour and try the low carb way. No harm can come to anyone eating good, healthy, fresh food with no additives, just natural foods and none that clog up your system.
If you need any help to get started, get in touch, via the owner of this blog.
All the best
Karen chocfish

Karen is back at diabetes.co.uk under a new name. Win a coconut for the first correct answer for who she is !

The post below was shamelessly nicked from and old acquaintance. A long term type one diabetic with an HbA1c of 6.1. This is a great number for any diabetic, especially a type one. Most type ones never get close to 6.1 as the NHS data shows. Would 6.1 be achievable without low carbing ? Possible but highly unlikely.

NHS Statistics for 2008 2009:

Percentage of Type 1 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 7.5 per cent = 71.4 per cent.

Percentage of Type 2 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 7.5 per cent = 33.4 per cent.

Percentage of Type 1 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 10.0 per cent = 33.6 per cent.

Percentage of Type 2 diabetics with HbA1c greater than 10.0 per cent = 14.3 per cent.

These results are very similar to those found in 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008.

The traditional advice from the NHS is that fat is the thing to be avoided; weight gain is a simple process of not using as many calories as you consume. The solution to being overweight then comes down to eating less and moving more. Fat has more calories than protein and carbs so is the key one to reduce in your diet. Simple really.

Except the above is a load of rubbish and doesn't take into account the reasons why we get fat. It is well known that there is only one hormone in our bodies responsible for creating fat and that is insulin. The more glucose in the blood we have the more insulin we need to deal with it; and the more insulin we have the more fat is laid down. Increasing your carbohydrate consumption means increasing the amount of fat you are creating. Insulin also inhibits fat from being metabolised by the body.

So, the alternative reality that so many of us promote is; forget about all the fat and protein worries you have, eat more of them and less of the carbs and you will need to inject less insulin if you are Type 1 and produce less insulin if you are Type 2. Less insulin means less fat creation and if you are eating a low enough amount of carbs then your body will naturally start to metabolise your fat reserves; hence weight loss.

It is this idea that the Atkins diet is based on and what a number of other popular diets; the South beach diet, the Paleo diet and so on.

Give it a try and see how you go. Lots of people just say 'eat in moderation' and that is fine, but the key thing is is to drop the carb content of your diet to such an extent that your insulin levels come down and your body can start shifting fat.

Back in the days of starting low carbing, we were told scurvy was on the horizon, due to lack of vitamin C. We had dropped the potatoes and high carb/sugar fruits, and scurvy was just one of the myriad of health problems that could come our way. As usual with the spreaders of doom and gloom, nothing is further from the truth. One of our team members John, checked the situation out, and found our vitamin C intake had gone up to much higher levels, than before we started low carbing, with the increase in our low carb vegetable intake. He compiled the chart which can be found on his post linked below. As you can see broccoli contains almost 5 times as much vitamin C as potato, broccoli contains 8 times as much calcium as potato, broccoli contains almost 2.5 as much dietary fibre as potato. Check out the vitamin C content of a low carb red bell pepper and you will see, spuds are very over rated from a vit C perspective, they can of course quickly raise BG numbers to dangerous levels.

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Abstract

Background—Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with weight gain and risk of type 2 diabetes. Few studies have tested for a relationship with coronary heart disease (CHD), or intermediate biomarkers. The role of artificially sweetened beverages is also unclear.

Conclusions—Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with increased risk of CHD and some adverse changes in lipids, inflammatory factors, and leptin. Artificially sweetened beverage intake was not associated with CHD risk or biomarkers.

Just when I thought, our resident experimental chief, had taken lowcarb cakes to the pinnacle, he surprises us yet again. Well done Graham, this could be your Magnum Opus. Coffee and walnuts with clotted cream.

100 grams of clotted cream﻿MethodMix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream. Place 1 tablespoon of instant coffee in a cup and pour some boiling water over the coffee, keep water to a minimum, just enough to melt the coffee. Then add the dry ingredients and mix. Microwave in a 700watt for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on clotted cream and add walnut halves. Serves four, around five carbs per portion.

I see Bonkers is diving in again regarding saturated fats. Thankfully, Dillinger stepped in to give a more nuanced viewpoint. The study below notes that there are no appropriately conducted randomised controlled trials to support the notion that cutting back on saturated fat is good for the prevention of heart disease.

When I started low carbing almost four years ago, a Dietition informed me low carbers could suffer kidney damage. Others echoed the dietitions warnings. Evidently, low carbers often increase their protein intake when they dump the carbs, and this could damage, the already under attack diabetics kidneys. As with every organ in the body, diabetes can have a devastating effect, hence the very high kidney faluire rate and many diabetics on dialysis. Over the weekend a friend of mine, a type two diabetic, and low carber, informed me she had just received details from a full bloods test. She was very happy that all was well, and her kidney GFR was 130 and plasma creatinine was below lab range.

On checking my last test results last night a similar result. My lab does not give a total GFR number it just says 90> each time, (a good number) labs work in slightly different ways. My lab state a range of 80-115umol/L is normal for Plasma Creatinine Level, mine came in at 67umol/L and in the normality column says below range. The site in the link says this shows nothing more than an efficient and effective pair of kidneys.

It’s been a long time since I counted carbs or calories. Keeping carbs below 50 has become second nature. Calories are around 2500, but never less than 2000 per day, it varies from day to day, depending how I feel. I usually have three meals a day. I have replaced the missing carbs, with more good fats, and more protein. As a crude guesstimate, I would think the ratio is 70% more fat and 30% more protein. While the numbers keep coming in the healthy range, I’ll stay with what I am doing. I am very lucky and my health team do a full bloods on around fifty tests 4 times a year. Something will kill me, but for the time being, It won’t be kidney faluire from low carbing. Coming soon, The Great Scurvy Myth.Eddie

Monday, 12 March 2012

0.8 grams of carb per 100 grams. 2.5 grams of carb per half pack and tastes sublime ! These days I'm not a lover of pre-made factory foods, but this food is in a different league. When we have had a 12 hour plus working day, or I have been down on a lake fishing all day, and messing around in the kitchen for two hours is beyond us, Bighams is the business !

Place diced chicken in a large deep frying pan. Add a large knob of butter. Heat and turn chicken until slightly brown on all sides. Add 300ml of double cream and two tablespoons of Pateks Madras curry paste, stir well. Add a handful of quartered button mushrooms and finely chopped onion. Add salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs and slow simmer for around twenty minutes. Cut a quarter of a medium size swede into half inch/12mm chunks and boil for ten minutes, drain and add to frying pan. Add some cauliflower rice as described below, or you can lightly fry the grated cauliflower in a second frying pan with a little butter until browning.

Sunday, 11 March 2012

“I am a Type 1 but now I live quite happily on 30g of carb per day. It does mean lots of salads but I enjoy them and it just becomes part of life. I am not advocating the same for you - that is your decision. However, taking the route suggested by Diabetes UK and taking major quantities of carbs with every meal will definitely mean that you will need to take insulin. My Hba1C has come down from 8.0 to 5.1 - low carbing does work, if you can live with it”

“I was diagnosed last Friday, and my fasting bloods were 10.1 Two hours after glucose 24. something. I started low carb, high fat on Monday. I am keeping to below 50 grams of carbs per day.

Today my readings are as follows.

As soon as I got up 5.9
Before evening meal 5.8
Two hours later 5.0

Carbs for that meal were 12.

Can this be right? Can I have reversed my blood glucose so quickly? Is this a miracle? I was determined to not let this beat me. Could I have done this as long as I stay on this path? I will test more once I have more strips. I have ran out other than one for first thing in the morning. I am waiting for my prescription to be filled, and for the extras I bought on Ebay to arrive”

Saturday, 10 March 2012

We are all different, and one size does not fit all ! How many time have we seen those statements made over the years. Well, genetic differences between human beings is very small, and there is one size that fits most, if you are a diabetic. A drastic reduction in carbohydrate food benefits almost all non insulin injecting type two’s and brings many benefits to insulin users. The $64000 question is how low in carbs do you go, and what is a low carb diet. Some believe 150 carbs per day is low carb, others feel 50 is more realistic, for many people including Dr. Richard Bernstein, 30 carbs per day is the number. I know many non meds type two diabetics, and 150 carbs per day would have almost all, in double figure BG numbers most of the day. The same applies to 100 carbs per day. You would have to be very lucky to be able to consume 100-150 carbs per day on nil or minimal meds and hold safe blood glucose numbers. For me anything above 50 carbs per day is not low carb. As readers of this blog know, I believe low carb is the only way.

How about a low GI diet ? Well I tried that at diagnosis, and found it to be a complete faluire. OK it reduced my BG numbers from mid twenty’s to around 12-15, a big drop, but still in the extremely high risk of complications territory. So, low GI did not work for me, but could it work for others ? My money is on NO! and I will give you my reasons. For me a carb is still a carb, it’s just a question of how fast it raises BG. Secondly, there is a huge amount of misinformation out there. You read one GI chart, and it says a certain food is low GI, you read a different GI chart, and it says the same food is high GI. So, very confusing especially for newly diagnosed, and possibly very dangerous for the type two getting no test strips, and cannot afford to buy their own. Trusting a GI chart could lead to dangerous BG numbers. Now, an outfit that should have some accurate GI food information is the largest diabetes charity in the UK DUK alas no. Have a look at the chart from the DUK website below.

As you can see, they state Special K is low GI. Kellogg’s Special K varies from country to country, but is typically around a GI of 70, please bear in mind, white table sugar has a GI of around 65. DUK tell us brown rice is high GI, but the GI is in fact around 45. As regulars to this blog know, I have one keen sense of smell, and I am smelling a rat here. Could it be if you are giving money to DUK as Kellogg’s do, you get a nice safe GI rating, and lot’s of recommends in the diet section ? Or have DUK made a mistake ? As I said earlier, the GI diet is fraught with danger and misinformation. If DUK don’t have clue, who does ?

One more thing, the Special K diet is a complete crock. I had my wife on it for six months and she looked nothing like the woman in the ads.

Friday, 9 March 2012

Most straight thinking people realise pretty quickly the standard dietary advice for diabetics from most healthcare professionals is wrong, very wrong. They realise the carbs have got to go big time. Next the question comes up what about the fats. Everywhere you look it’s low fat this and low fat that. Every food advert almost every packaged food shouts low fat. Low fat factory and prepared food is cheaper to make and if people believe it’s more healthy they will pay more money. It’s a real winner for the food manufacturers. Cheaper to make and premium price leads to bigger profit margins. Again the straight thinking person soon realises there are good fats and bad fats. The straight thinker soon learns the right fats are essential to good health. Next question to address is salt.

For most type two diabetics high blood pressure is part of the diabetes deal. And the standard advice from the medics is drop the salt. Salt they tell us will do our blood pressure no good at all. Excessive levels of salt does no-one any good, very much like insulin levels, but as with insulin, too low a level leads to serious problems. If you start a low carb diet and prepare all your own food and avoid added salt, you may be going too low on salt. Think about it, many of us were eating ready meals and factory made foods before low carbing and many of these foods have a very high salt content. We have quickly gone from a high salt diet to a possibly very low salt diet.

Some words from Dr. Jay Wortman a lowcarb expert and type two diabetic on lowcarb and salt.

“When you cut the carbs your kidneys will release sodium. This is why people lose some water initially and why blood pressure also tends to get better on low-carb. If you are not careful to replace the lost sodium sufficiently by adding salt to your food, you will experience the effects of mild hypo-natremia. These are: headache, constipation, weakness, fatigue, low-blood pressure, othostatic hypotension and possibly leg cramps. If you get a blood test you may find that your potassium is low, too. Unfortunately, there is no reliable blood test for magnesium but it may also be low. Supplementing with salt should correct these problems. You don't need to take a potassium supplement, it will correct if you eat enough salt. Some people will have a persistent magnesium deficiency that will require supplements. This would be manifested by leg cramps and hyper-reflexia (something your doctor can check). To correct this you should take a slow-release Mg++ supplement daily.

Many people make the mistake of restricting salt and drinking lots of water when on a low carb diet. This is virtually guaranteed to cause problems. When you look carefully at the studies that report equivocal results with a low-carb diet, this is invariably one of the reasons.”

Your post should begin by explaining how much you don't intend to become embroiled in another argument about low-carb. You should state clearly how much respect you have toward anyone who low-carbs. You might like to close paragraph one with the phrase "each to his own", as this serves as a cue for the reader to prepare for the ensuing tirade by clenching their buttocks and assuming an appropriate crash position.

"However..." is always a great way to begin paragraph two. This is where your post turns and the kettle really gets whistling. You should make it clear not only where you'd like the low-carbers to go, but also what they should do when they get there. If possible, you should add some typing errors into this section in order to demonstrate just how hard it is to use a keyboard when you're shaking with furiousanger. Under no circumstances must you indicate what it is that you're really angry about. Don't forget to include the word "evangelical" somewhere along the way.

Paragraph three should be reserved for inconsequential anecdotes.

Use paragraph four to show people that you're not afraid to be tenuous when an argument demands it. Don't forget to finish by adding a HbA1C well below 6% and be sure to mention the fact that the quinoa on toast that you had for breakfast was mind-blowingly good. Paragraph four should contain the phrase "I am happy" at least five times."

Some of you guys out there of a certain vintage, i.e ex rock and rollers, with one foot in the grave like me, will remember the old fashioned Barbers Shops. Cheerful chatty Barbers, a pile of car and girlie mags on the table and some good jokes. Back in the old days, after your hair was cut and as you were paying, the Barber would often say “anything for the weekend Sir ?”. This was polite code for do you want to buy some condoms. In those far off days, Barbers supplemented their income by selling contraceptives. Ok I can hear you asking, what in hells name has contraception, got to do with diabetes and the weekend ? Stay with me.

Over at my favourite diabetes forum d.co.uk, yet another highcarb lowcarb debate is in full swing. Ex Kenny boys clique members are on the war path for the umpteenth time. Making themselves look more stupid with every post. The Cherub “It is better to have an open mind than one closed by belief” oh the irony, and Kenny’s performing monkey, are blowing what’s left of their brains out trying to defend the abysmal dietary advice dolled out by the NHS. Nobhead hasn’t joined in yet, “Mr I'm with you on this one Sid” and Phoenix must be down the shops. Stand by for their appearance later in the day, if the thread is not locked !

That’s the game that has worked in the past for the clique, stifle any debate by turning a meaningful debate into a punch up. In Kenny’s days, he would lead the vultures on, and then ban the opposition who dared to speak against the diet of death. Those days are hopefully over, no doubt Daisy will soon be along pleading for calm. I don’t believe she is influenced by Ken for one minute, although she is one of his few regular forum posters.

Oh, I almost forgot, weekend, contraception. Well, I think we have a great weekend lined up on the forum, and contraception, I’ll let you work that one out.

Thursday, 8 March 2012

"GPs face a soaring workload on diabetes prevention under Government plans for practices to provide intensive lifestyle advice and annual glucose checks to everyone judged as at high risk from the age of 25.

Draft NICE guidance published last year caused controversy after recommending GPs go through practice records and assess diabetes risk in all patients aged over 25. It said patients at high risk – such as those with a high BMI or a family history of diabetes – and with HbA1c levels of 6.0-6.4% should have intensive lifestyle advice and annual HbA1c checks.

But the new report goes even further, recommending the same interventions for high-risk patients with an HbA1c of less than 6.0%: ‘If clinically at high risk manage as above – provide intensive lifestyle advice and monitor HbA1c annually.'

The proposals have been signed off by all the major UK diabetes organisations, including the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, the Primary Care Diabetes Society, NHS Diabetes and Diabetes UK"

This looks great on paper but who is going to pay for it ? The NHS can’t look after the known diabetics properly. I once asked a Diabetic Nurse, why don’t all high risk patients get regularly tested. People who had excess weight or type two running through their families. Her answer, so many new diabetics would be found, the system would collapse. And what will happen if this goes ahead ? Two Metformin, eat up all your starchy carbs and don’t bother to test. And they say the NHS needs to save money. If this scheme goes ahead it will bankrupt the NHS.

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About Me

We are a small band of diabetics all low carbers. Posting links to diabetes related articles and low carb food advice. In our spare time we like to lampoon the spreaders of fear and misinformation. Welcome to the crazy world of diabetes.